Tonight, or any March evening, look for the Big Dipper in the northeast sky. This star pattern – one of the most noticeable from Northern Hemisphere locations – is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Greater Bear. And, if you can find the Big Dipper, you can also find two Hunting Dogs seen by the ancient stargazers to be nipping at the Bear’s heels. The Hunting Dogs are a separate constellation: tiny Canes Venatici.

You’ll need a dark sky to see these two little stars snuggled in the arc of the Big Dipper. Originally, they were called by the names Chara and Asterion.

But the eastern star is now called Cor Caroli, or Heart of Charles, named for the patron king of the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, who devised this constellation in 1690.

The most famous object in this region of the sky is M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. It is beautiful when seen through telescopes and appears dramatic in photographs.

Unfortunately, this galaxy is difficult or impossible to glimpse with binoculars.

The large galaxy at the bottom is the beautiful Whirlpool galaxy, aka M51 or NGC 5194. It’s a large spiral galaxy located in the direction of the constellation Canes Venatici. The smaller galaxy at top is a companion. Image via S. Beckwith (STScI) Hubble Heritage Team, (STScI/AURA), ESA, NASA.

And there’s another faint object at the extreme edge of Canes Venatici that your binoculars should pick up. This object is M3, a globular star cluster located some 48,000 light-years away.

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.